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Ralph Ellison, son of Lewis and Ida Ellison, was born in Oklahoma City on March 1, 1914. His father named him after Ralph Waldo Emerson, hoping that he too would become a famous poet. His father, who had been a small business owner and construction foreman, died when Ellison was three and served as a hero and role model throughout his life. We learned that after Lewis died, Ida was unable to pay for a funeral and Lewis' corpse decomposed in the back yard while Ida raised the money.
Ida Ellison, or "Brownie", as she was called by her friends, supported herself and her children by working as a cleaning woman. Unfortunately, she was a Socialist and was arrested several times for violating the segregation orders.
As a young boy, Ellison loved the music: he played the trumpet and the piano. This dream ended when he moved to New York and met Richard Wright, "with whom he would have a long and complicated relationship". After Wright convinced Ellison to be the critic of another story, Ellison became enamored with the art.
For a short while, Ellison was a part of the "Merchant Marine," which took part in World War II. His first wife, Rose Poindexter, was a Harlem Showgirl. There were rumors that Ellison was violent towards her, but nothing was ever proven. Their marriage ended in 1945. His second wife, Fanny McConnell, married him in 1947. She helped Ellison with his story by writing it as he spoke it to her. She was helpful during the times when he was busy with his writing because she would help cook and clean the house. While Ellison was writing, both Alain Lock and Langston Hughes took a nurturing interest in Ellison. For a while, Ellison was known as one of the most prestigious writers of the time. Unfortunately, Ellison suffered from severe writers block after the publication of "Invisible Man", and besides a few short stories, no other novels were ever published by the author. Ellison died in 1994.
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